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I have been looking for a tent, really like the Vango aspen... but at that price, I am unwilling to take the plunge.

I have seen and bought the 8 berth from Argos http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=3801&langId=-1&searchTerms=3408616&go.x=16&go.y=11

This looks like an aspen, without the porch (will add a gazebo!), Does any one else have one, if so any tips?

Don't know about this tent (I'm looking to buy the Vango Aspen) but I know that if you have any problems with it Argos are very good in sorting it out.

Friend bought the Starter tent + accs for £99 in July, we went away for 2 nights, weather really bad, poured down both days and nights and tent leaked. Called argos they couldn't do enough and upgraded her tent. Well done Argos

What was this like to put up and is it roomy inside?

You know you want one!!! go on be a devil!!  sorry but that thing would fit in one of the bedroom of the Aspen !!

Post last edited on 07/09/2005 18:37:17

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Quote: Originally posted by Chorleydave on 07/09/2005

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That's a decent looking tent, Skatty. I wouldn't fancy taking it on a backpacking trip though!

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lmao I wouldnt fany carrying it to the car!!! luckily got a hubby to do that!!

Well I have put up the arizona, looks good.

Took me about 1 hour but I was on my own, and that included checking all the bits there and followin ginstructions.

Looks good, and stable.

Mud flaps a little on the short side, and feel light weight suspect in the wind they would certainly flap! But will add eyelets

Bedrooms very long - one bedroom has a bakdoor which leads to a backdoor of the tent - not particularly wanted because I was going to put a child in it. But a small padlock will stop escapees! 

Last Night it rained which I was hoping it would. This morning there is condensation on the inside, but what do I expect.

There is a small pool of water in part of the roof, but this was probably because I didn't tighten it all up properly. May also contribute to the Fact that mud flaps appear short!

The rain itself has not leaked in, other than through a small tare, which I had noticed whilst erecting it! Phoned Argos and they will deliver and pick up for a replacement.

It is 25kgs. Which is half the wieght of the Aspen 700.

There are 2 side windows and a roof window, there are 3 mesh windows too. There are three main doors plus the back door. All in all very light and airy.

For £90 (when I have a replacement) I think I will be happy.

Hi

We have the arizona tent and find it absolutely fine.  We bought it in July as a starter tent and have had no problems with it.  Went away Bank holiday monday till friday and had a absolutely horrendous storm.  Woke up to find lots of tents around us flat or knee deep in water and ours survived with only a small puddle. 

Hope this helps

update - Argos replaced the tent due to the small tare. Messed up collection of old tent a bit, but were fine about it. And to be honest the mess up did us a favour.

We put up the replaced tent, but one of the poles bent (woryingly easily). But just swapped it for one from the tent to be returned.

It rained a lot yesterday, the ground is sodden, there are huge puddles in the roads etc etc. The tent is not perfectly dry - it is suffering from condensation, and also it is clear that rain water has leaked into the tent in various places. But not in copious amounts. Just little splashes. All the bedrooms are too long, and if I move on rainy nights all the stuff that I dont want to get wet into the bedrooms then they will stay dry.

Given that this was bought to cover those 'lets get away, the weather forecast is good for the weekend', this will be an excellent tent.

I know it hasn't had wind yet, but it has lots of guys, and with the tent has a combination of steel and fibre glass poles. it comes with 54 pegs, and I think if a wind can lift 54 well placed pegs it has a right to take your tent away!

We bought an Arizona from Argos last year as our first family tent and it was OK.  There were a few leaky seams, and one of the tags holding the inner tent to the outer came off.  Also after a couple of uses we noticed some of the stitching around the ground sheet coming away (after the warranty was up).  Our main problem was the weight; we use it for camping at music festivalsas well as standard sites and a 10-15 minute walk with 23kg isn't much fun.  Also it took too long to put up.  We've since realised that as we'll be camping only for weekends that the tent is bigger than we need so we've ditched it and bought a Vango Venture 500 for £68.99 from Gaynor Sports.  If we do need any more storage space our 14 year-old Vango Discovery Dome is perfect, and the 2 together weigh less than the Arizona and take less time to pitch.

All that said, I'm glad that we bought the Argos tent, and didn't spend £200-£300 on a tent that we then decided wasn't right for us.